Husband of tax collector convicted of embezzlement files for divorce

Anne M. Amato

Published 11:13 pm, Wednesday, October 10, 2012

OXFORD -- The husband of former tax collector Karen M. Guillet has filed for divorce, just weeks before she's scheduled to be sentenced for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in town funds.

Nil J. Guillet is seeking to end the 23-year marriage saying it has "broken down irretrievably," according to documents filed Tuesday in state Superior Court in Milford.

He's also seeking a portion of his wife's estate, which the town already has a lien on. Last year, a Superior Court judge approved attaching her personal assets -- including the portion of the home the couple owns on Douglas Drive -- in the amount of $699,000.

The couple was married in Trumbull on Sept. 19, 1970.

"I really can't comment," Dominick Thomas, Karen Guillet's Derby attorney, said about the divorce petition. He added he's busy doing preparation for her sentencing Oct. 29. She's facing up to five years in prison.

Nil Guillet's Oxford attorney, Mary Chromik, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Nil Guillet had been with his wife during the many court dates leading to her guilty plea on July 31.

Neither Karen nor Nil Guillet could be reached Wednesday for comment.

Karen Guillet was arrested last November and charged with one count of first-degree larceny and six counts of first-degree forgery.

Last month, Guillet, 63, accepted a plea deal offered by the state that only included the larceny charge. She also has to pay the town $243,902 in restitution as part of the plea agreement.

At that time, State's Attorney Kevin Lawlor said Guillet misappropriated that amount at various times over two years, from 2008 to 2009, while serving as tax collector.

But a three-member committee appointed by former First Selectman Mary Ann Drayton-Rogers found that $671,768 appeared to have been taken by Guillet between July 2003 and 2009.

Lawlor also said Guillet was living a lavish lifestyle, including spending $10,000 at a spa.

Her arrest affidavit said she made numerous purchases at posh clothing and department stores, hotels, casinos and salons. She also spent tens of thousands of dollars at high-end stores like Swarovski Crystal, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue and Lord & Taylor, the affidavit said.

During a one-night stay at Foxwoods Resort Casino in September 2009, Guillet spent $1,980 on lodging, jewelry and dining and she spent $2,382 on a one-night stay at a luxury hotel in Keene, N.H., the affidavit said.

Lawlor said her spending habits "greatly exceeded the income of her and her husband."